Fall 2014 FIRST BLOG!

Blog assignment #1:

Interviews

You will be interviewing a classmate for your first blog post. A good interview reveals something about the interviewee that we would not normally know. Make your questions in a way that will get your interviewee talking about something important to her.

The blog post will be well written in paragraph form, so you will be taking your answers and making them into a complete picture with your writing skills.

The blog post will also include photographs that your interviewee provides you. These photos should be a central part of your question and answers.

You will have time during the next week to work on perfecting your blog post before it is officially due. Please use your time wisely and proofread your work. Make it as professional and presentable as possible.

Second Blog Post

As you continue to read and write in this class, it is useful to reflect on both activities. How was the experience of writing the first paper? What was it like to receive feedback from peers? From me? What will you do differently next time?

Paper 1 assignment Video

Paper 1 assignment!

Summer I 2014 Blog #1 EDUCATION

Thinking about what you know about education from our readings, compare your own educational experiences so far. What portrayal best represents your own education and why? Include photos of your past schools if possible to illustrate what kind of schools they were. Did class matter in the school you went to? What were you taught? How did it affect your career choices later in life? Please write about your own experience in the context of what we have read.

Blog Post #3: Wal-Mart

For your third blog post, I would like you to first complete the readings for the unit, including "Up Against Wal-Mart." 

Using ideas from the readings as well as your own experience as a Wal-Mart shopper, write a post about how you see the compromise between low prices for consumers and low wages for employees. Is this a fair trade off? Some people can't afford to shop anywhere else, and on black friday we will see the hordes of people waiting to get the best deals. Will you be there, too? Why or why not?

Please use quotes from the texts in your post. You should continue practicing "They Say/I Say" techniques. What do the authors say, and what do you say in response?

Due Monday, November 18th.

Black Friday at Wal-Mart

Blog Post #2: The American Dream

George Carlin says that to believe in the American Dream, you would have to be asleep. I am interested to know if you agree with what Carlin says. Are corporations using this concept to force us into submission in some way? Or is the American Dream an important concept that binds us all together? Immigrants still come to this country with a dream. Is that still intact? Think about these questions and write a blog post about your thoughts on the American Dream.

Blog Post #1: Class and Education

In Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich explains how her PhD level of education is meaninglessness in the jobs she gets as part of her experiment. There is a stigma against her and her fellow workers because they wear uniforms, work hard, and don't need an education to do it. These jobs are seen as "easy" because one does not need an education to perform them. Mike Rowe and Mike Rose also weigh in on this in the readings for this week.

 Mike Rowe's website about this issue:
http://profoundlydisconnected.com/

For your blog post, I want you to think about jobs you have had or your family members have had. How were you treated? Did your education level matter? Do you think that the level of education a worker has should determine the respect and pay that worker receives?

You can refer to the readings to write your blog for this week, but I want you to think mostly about your personal experience (or a family member's experience) as a worker.